It’s now ten days since the JEP launched its Time to Care campaign, sparked by the story of Mark Jones, who cares for his two adult children, but is unable to receive “overlapping” benefits: in this case a pension and a home carer’s allowance. In a nutshell, a pensioner can’t receive both those “benefits” at the same time. They must make a choice: be a pensioner, or be a carer.
In fairness, the Minister was very quick to react, announcing an urgent review, and beginning a comprehensive program of briefing and investigation. There has been no suggestion that she hasn’t grasped the issue, or fails to care about it.
The further details and examples which have been provided to explain the current position have all been interesting – but the core point at the heart of the issue still remains abundantly clear, as it has done from the start – and readers may well suspect it is one which has been raised between the Minister and her officers.
That point is this, and it is why we titled the campaign, Time to Care.
We know that the number of people like Mr Jones who reached pension age while acting as a carer – and then opted to receive a care payment rather than their pension – is small, just 17, according to the government’s figures.
Cynics might wonder if the number is so small, why not just help them out, after all, their work is ultimately saving the taxpayer.
From the briefings we have seen, the answer seems to be when you alter the definition ever so slightly, and include anyone who draws a public pension, but who could also claim they acted as a carer, then that number multiplies into the thousands – what exactly do we mean by “carer”?
And with the Government having moved on from just looking down the back of the sofa for more cash – and now searching the ministerial armchairs, futon and chaise longue too – well, it’s not long before officers mention they are unable to find a viable “funding stream.”
That will always be a political question, and like anything else in the current financial environment, it will mean trade-offs, which used to be known as choices. Increasingly, it seems the island is heading towards making some tough ones.
Which in this case, brings us neatly back to the very simple point of what is wrongly portrayed as a complex issue: how much do we care about it?
